Pound it
I know it’s been discussed before, but it’s worth emphasizing: if Notre Dame is going to beat Purdue this weekend, they’re going to do it by running the ball successfully. Here’s a breakdown of ND’s last four games against Purdue: two losses under Tyrone Willingham in 2003 and 2004, and two wins under Charlie Weis in 2005 and 2006.
What these numbers make clear is exactly what most of us already thought: if you run the ball successfully against the Boilermakers, you can win the game, and if you don’t, you can’t. (Let me re-emphasize this point for all those bemoaning how historically bad our offense has been this year: in 2003 and 2004 Willingham managed an average of 57.5 rushing yards a game against PURDUE.)
When asked about his game plan for Saturday, Coach Weis said on Tuesday that a key aspect of it is “that you have to try your best to try to keep their offense off the field.” Interestingly, though, a closer look at Purdue’s numbers from last year doesn’t necessarily bear out the specific importance of possessing the ball for long periods of time. Here’s a game-by-game rundown of Purdue’s wins and losses from the 2006 season, with their opponents’ rushing statistics and time of possession:
So these numbers don’t indicate a strong relationship between POSSESSING the ball, and so keeping the Purdue offense off the field, and beating the Boilermakers. They do, though, reemphasize the importance of gaining serious yardage on the ground, and also give further support to a point I made yesterday: namely, that Purdue is REALLY BAD at defending the run. (316 rushing yards given up to ILLINOIS?!)
Come Saturday, then, the best hope for Irish fans rests on the backs of the four horses.
Tags: , Charlie Weis, Tyrone Willingham